CRIMSON CHOW #1 - The Crimson Daggers WIP

[pnate]

Hello Daggers!

Welcome to the Crimson CHOW (Character of the Week)! This is a biweekly challenge which was created as a way to hone your skills in design and character creation, in a fun and competitive way. Each challenge, we will give you a short descriptive passage of a character and it is your task to interpret the character as you imagine it, with your own unique spin. The winner will be chosen through a poll in the finals thread, and in addition to being able to pick the next week's topic, his/her work will be featured in a Winners Circle thread and in the banner for the next challenge!

Here is the passage:

"He left footprints in red as he walked away from the gory aftermath, and took a moment to admire the crimson sheen on his blade. He sheathed the bloody dagger and joined his brethren nearby, and together they sank into the pitch-black night."

Your task: Design a member of "The Crimson Daggers".
(Keep in mind you are not required to stick strictly to what is in the passage. It is more of a guide in terms of mood.)

Guidelines:

• Photo textures, 3D, and traditional mediums are allowed.
  
• There is no restriction on the character's gender, time period, or culture.
  
• Environment backgrounds are optional.
  
• Studies are recommended, but not required.
  
• There is no restriction on image formats (horizontal, vertical, square).
  

Rules:

• Finals must be posted in the finals thread before the deadline.
  
• At least 3/4 of the character must be visible (minimum from the knees up). No back views are allowed without a front.
  
• Only ONE character please.
  
• Only ONE submission per person in the finals thread.
  
• Sketches, WIPs, or rushed artwork will not be accepted into the poll.
  
• No fanart. We want to see your original, unique interpretations!
  
• Have fun!
  

Deadline is Sunday, August 31 @10pm GMT
(*Post your finals here: http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/thread-5369.html )

[Jaik]

Just to clarify:

" No back views are allowed without a front."
I take it from this that a back view is not strictly required for entry?

[pnate]

Jaik - Nope, a back view is not required at all. This is just to prevent entries where all you see is the character's back :)

[Suira]

So for the final I'm thinking of submitting two things:

- A design sheet ( typical stiff boring view with the character's design)
- An establishing shot ( more cinematical type of deal with the character doing something, maybe partially obscured by the lighting on the scene)

Would that be ok?

[Fedodika]

Can i just say i'm SUPER EXCITED!!

And i wanted to ask, from the rules it looks like it can be either an illustration or a concept piece correct? :)

[gregogr]

Oh I'm so IN!

[crackedskull]

This is great!

Getting there.

[pnate]

Suira - Sorry, only one entry per person :( Either one would be perfectly fine to submit in the finals.

Fedodika - Yes :) I will make that a little clearer in the rules. You can do either type of image.

[Craig Paton]

A bit of design wips and thumbnailing. Got a bit of a backstory for him, which I'm trying to sell in the design.

[BenFlores]

awesome guys! Had the idea of a joker personality , a guy with a masquerade mask and a bloody suit with a dagger inside his cane. I'll have to explore more but heres a start

[rafa zanchetin]

Awesome start guys!
I'm not really sure if I'll go with this but just throwing some things around, taking a completely different route for me, sci-fi! Thinking of a group of deep space mercenaries/assassins.
Enjoy!

[Suira]

Awesome start people, really digin some of the ideas. I'm going the more obvious route I guess. Wanted to post when my WIP was more advanced, but my computer doesn't seem like it wants me to keep painting tonight, so this will have to do:

[pnate]

Random idea exploration, just trying out whatever and seeing what sticks. Awesome WIPs so far everyoneee

[Adam Lina]

Uh here ya go :)

[ZombieChinchilla]

Looking awesome so far, everyone!

I made an inspiration board today and then did some quick experimental sketches. I think I'm gonna do the sci fi lady, but I'm gonna work on her some more then do thumbnails for the final inspiration.

[Fedodika]

Lol i'm gon on a trip soon and i come back exactly on the deadline i hope i can get a chance to work on itt!!! Went all out; mine will be an illustration, prolly will stick close to this design tho!!

[DanialG]

Some scribbles on what sort of idea I'm trying to push.

After watching Mad Max/Waterworld/Escape From New York/L.A/Blade Runner
and reading Fist of the North Star/Desert Punk.

The Crimson Daggers are a gang like no other. Their entire existence is to steal, kill, and most of all sing and dance. They're a musical group of thugs who love nothing more than putting on the ritz and doing the truffle shuffle while destroying the status quo.

Right now it's just clothing design, I ended up trying to incorporate both music and post apocalyptic stuff in her design. For example, she has two microphones that are actually her daggers. Still trying to push more of a singer/dancer feel merged with the after-government world they live in.

[meat]

I thought this is an assassin at first. Assassin design is kind of paradoxical in that you'd like a unique, cool design, but functionally, an assassin needs to look as non-outstanding as possible.

Then I realized s/he doesn't have to be an assassin, just a detached, professional combatant who belongs to an organization. Their trade mark is daggers, and their color theme is red. They may or may not exclusively work at night. That's all.

So far I've gotten the initial doodle, and poses that conveys casualness and minor curiosity.

Please crit anything you notice, especially the anatomy, which seems to have gone back to my teachers.

[Egbu]

Hey guys, kind of going in all sorts of directions at the moment not so sure what route I want to take the challenge down, but here are a few rough sketches.

[Amit Dutta]

couple of quick skatchins: Dick Turpin highwayman dagger dude and his band of rascals I guess.